#2 – Biblical generosity is oriented according to God’s special concern for the poor.
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Deut 10:18-19
Isaiah 1:13-17 goes one shocking step further when it informs us that God doe not even desire our gifts if we fail to share his heart for the poor.
Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:13-17
As Luke 4:14-19 tells us, when the time came for Jesus to announce his mission statement and to set his public ministry in motion he said that he had been anointed by God’s Spirit “to preach good news to the poor” to be among the poor and to do God’s business on their behalf—and this is precisely what Jesus did. (cf. Luke 7:18-23).
Generous Giving’s Stewardship Study Notes are a passage-by-passage thematic commentary covering issues of stewardship and generosity in all sixty-six books of the Bible. These lessons are excerpts that come from a paper that was originally presented to the leadership of Generous Giving. To find out more, visit: www.generousgiving.org